3913 +P ?

Greetings,

About 10 years ago I bought my wife a 9mm LadySmith, which she seldom shot. Now things have changed & it is coming out of storage. I read thru the manual, and it warned against +P+ ammo. It said nothing specific about +P, only that I should use "industry standard ammo". Perhaps I am being overly optimistic, but I take that to mean +P is OK, at least for limited use, since it is a standard. My understanding is that there is no standard for +P+, so each maker decides where the upper limit of the load is.

Re: 3913 +P ?

You've got it right. A moderate diet of +P ammo isn't going to harm your wife's 3913. Lots of people have run a steady diet of +P stuff through their alloy framed Smiths with no problem, but I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to alloy and so I usually practice with standard stuff.

+P+ pressures can be wildly variable and so are suspect. I avoid that ammo altogether.

David

Man is the only kind of varmint who sets his own trap, baits it, then steps on it. - Steinbeck

Re: 3913 +P ?

The +p+ load is about the same pressure as NATO or U S Military loadings. I have qualified with mine quite a few times with +p+ Federal loads and WW loadings. When I carry my 3913 it has Federal 9mm +p+ loads in it. If I am going to shoot it for fun 115 gr fmj loadings are what I use. That is a cost consideration and because the department has gone to 357 Sig and doesn't have any 9mm rounds to issue. I am not telling you to use +p+ or Nato rounds. The NATO rounds developed problems in a very few of the U S Army's Berettas a number of years ago.

Re: 3913 +P ?

Originally Posted by shortranger

You've got it right. A moderate diet of +P ammo isn't going to harm your wife's 3913. Lots of people have run a steady diet of +P stuff through their alloy framed Smiths with no problem, but I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to alloy and so I usually practice with standard stuff.

+P+ pressures can be wildly variable and so are suspect. I avoid that ammo altogether.

David

Yeah, that's my take on it too - aluminum frames = shorter service life & heavier recoil. Since she is 4'-11" and 98 lbs recoil is an issue for her.

Re: 3913 +P ?

Originally Posted by JOHN

um i dont know! the factory says you will wear out the charteristic of the gun because its made of alluminum. but thats just my im just quoting what s&w said.

Since this is strictly a defensive pistol I'm not as concerned about wear - I'm sure she won't need it that many times! Hopefully the only time she'll ever shoot it is for practice. I was mostly concerned about breaking something.

Re: 3913 +P ?

Originally Posted by jimg11

The +p+ load is about the same pressure as NATO or U S Military loadings. I have qualified with mine quite a few times with +p+ Federal loads and WW loadings. When I carry my 3913 it has Federal 9mm +p+ loads in it. If I am going to shoot it for fun 115 gr fmj loadings are what I use. That is a cost consideration and because the department has gone to 357 Sig and doesn't have any 9mm rounds to issue. I am not telling you to use +p+ or Nato rounds. The NATO rounds developed problems in a very few of the U S Army's Berettas a number of years ago.

I'm kind of surprised at NATO/US GI being loaded to +P+; I always thought it was slightly less than +P.

In general, we both use standard/generic loads for practice to save money and wear & tear on equipment. We do shoot a few rounds of +P or +P+ (in other guns) to get familiar with the differences in recoil & blast. Since the 3913 is an unknown item to me, I wanted to be extra cautious.

Re: 3913 +P ?

The high pressure NATO loads are the ones with the NATO circle mark on the case. You do not see it on the open market often but I have bought it in the past. I understand that the pressure is around 42,000 cpu.

Re: 3913 +P ?

Originally Posted by jimg11

The high pressure NATO loads are the ones with the NATO circle mark on the case. You do not see it on the open market often but I have bought it in the past. I understand that the pressure is around 42,000 cpu.

Several times I have seen the cross & circle for sale, usually sold as "contract over-runs", but did not know what the pressure level was.

Re: 3913 +P ?

Based on my somewhat extensive use of +P in my 3913, I'd advise you to go with a 16 or 17lb spring in place of the factory 15.

Use grease as well. In my experience CLP and oils do not adhere to the aluminum frame as well as grease. Consequently I have heavy wear on the top of the frame rails, on either side of the hammer. I now use TW25 grease, and the erosion of the rails has significantly declined.

The 3913 is a superb pistol, and I regularly shoot 124 and 127 +P through it with no problems. Mine is approaching 5000 rounds BTW. Regards 18DAI.

S&W Model 19 Combat Magnum, everything you need in a revolver, and nothing you don't.